Shoppers boycotting sugar in protest of algae crisis

A call to boycott big sugar corporations is spreading across social media.

Wednesday, August 8th 2018, 7:18 pm EDT by Amelia Fabiano

Updated:

Wednesday, August 8th 2018, 7:18 pm EDT

A call to boycott big sugar corporations is spreading across social media.

Many are pointing fingers at the industry for the algae infested waters across Southwest Florida.

Now shoppers as far as Texas are putting up signs near sugar products in stores, snapping photos, and sharing them on social media.

Many say they're confused by the algae crisis and who to believe about where the issue stems from. The truth is it's complicated.

Experts are struggling to pin down exactly who or what is causing the toxic algae. Some say heavy rains or high water levels, others are looking at farmers or residential runoff going into Lake Okeechobee.

Representative Francis Rooney partially blames big sugar himself, saying a boycott could make the companies feel some pressure to do their part in solving the issue.

"We need to get the EAA Reservoir built and there's a role for sugar to play in that," Rooney said. "Sugar has been deeply involved in both obstructing efforts to move water south and involved in the phosphorus sequestration that the state made them do."

NBC-2 reached out to a spokesperson with U.S. Sugar to hear what they have to say. They claimed sugarcane farmers have nothing to do with water releases and blame excessive rainfall, coupled with Lake O's failing dike.

The Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir Project, which would store some of Lake O's water is still waiting for approval by Congress.